Focus: Attom

22nd September 2017


American DJ Attom has millions of music streams under his belt, has ticked off EDM accomplishments such as uploads on MrSuicideSheep and releases on Seeking Blue, and has recently signed a deal with MFN Music/ Ultra Music. His latest single Dive, a collaboration with Cosmos & Creature, is another punchy electronic hit that harks back to sun dappled summer evenings. We chatted to him about his rise to success, where he gains inspiration, and the process behind the new track.

Where does your performer name come from? Have you always been known by it or have you been involved in other musical projects?

Before I started seriously releasing music I was walking home late one night and decided it was time to choose an artist name. I settled on Attom for the time being, and then three months later I won two remix contests and figured I should just roll with it. I did technically have two previous names, first being with a friend, second being on my own, but I never really released much under them besides doing a few random remix contests that didn’t result in anything.

How did the collaboration with Cosmos & Creature come about?

It came about due to my managers. They sent over a demo of Dive and I really liked it so I decided to give it a shot. I sent back Cosmos & Creature a demo a bit after that and they were into the idea, so from there it was just a matter of finishing it up.

Has it been a busy summer for you? What has been on the agenda?

It has been a good summer! I released Dive, played a show at Summer Set, and some other local gigs. In between I worked on a couple remixes and some new original tracks. Been having a lot of fun.

Who would you say influenced your decision to embark on a musical career?

Initially it was a personal decision after I started college. I realized I enjoyed making music more than any subject in school, and decided if I didn’t at least give music my best shot the, “What if?” would have burned at me for the rest of my life. But I also attribute the decision to my friend Drew, who I worked with the first year or so I produced. Had a lot of great times making music with him which helped me solidify that choice.

Who influences your music now?

I could list a lot of people for this, but to give a specific answer, I’d say the biggest is / was definitely Tycho. Tycho single handedly got me to start incorporating a lot more guitar into my songs, which helped me progress my sound and style.

What is Dive about, is it based on your own experiences?

The actual meaning of Dive is best left to Brandyn and Molly, as the topline was their doing and based on their experiences, but I’ve always thought of it as the idea of sort of leaving things behind to just jump into something, even if it’s a bit reckless. I think that’s partly why I connected with it, as it can relate to pursuing music in a way. Depending on how you approach it, it can be a pretty high risk path and there are plenty of reasons to shy away from fully going for it.

What is next for you? Are there other collabs you want to do?

I have a remix lined up to come out in a couple weeks. I have also talked about an EP, which would be cool, though at the end of the day my main goal is just to finish some new originals, EP or not. And there’s definitely some other collabs I’d like to do. I have one that’s essentially done with my buddy Oracles and a very cool singer, and I’ve also been talking with a few other people for future tracks.

Talk us through your live performances, do you place any importance on the visuals/ lighting/ style of your shows?

Right now I’m still doing DJ sets, but switching to more of a performance is certainly in my future. I do put quite a bit of consideration into my sets though. My music spans a pretty wide range, especially if you include remixes, so I’ll have a rough idea of which songs / remixes of mine I’ll play, and then do my best to structure the set into segments that fit around each one. So for example I might start a set at around 70 bpm, and in that case I’ll try to build that first segment out around my remix of Wild Horses by Bishop Briggs. In general I play a pretty wide range of music so my sets can seem a bit all over the place, but there’s definitely a reason behind it. And as far as lighting and visuals go, it’s definitely important to me but I’m still not quite at a point where it’s really in my control. Lighting is a crucial part of the overall live experience though, so whenever that time comes it certainly won’t be neglected.

Words by Sophia Miles

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